Coast Guard calls off search for missing boaters off Georgia

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — The Coast Guard says it has called off its search for three boaters missing off the coast of Georgia since Tuesday.

The Coast Guard said in a statement that it suspended the search Friday evening after searching the ocean waters northeast of Georgia’s Tybee Island for more than 72 hours. The statement did not identify the missing boaters.

An emergency beacon Tuesday evening had alerted the Coast Guard, which found the 47-foot (14-meter) fishing boat, Miss Debbie, overturned in the water. Parts of coastal Georgia were experiencing severe thunderstorms at the time.

No people were found with the vessel.

Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Ryan Dickinson said the boat is based in Swan Quarter, North Carolina.